Kansas-based utility Westar celebrates centennial
It held receptions at all its Kansas offices to celebrate a century of providing electric service in the state. The utility got its start on December 11, 1909, when the American Power and Light Co. incorporated Kansas Gas and Electric Co. to operate south and southeast Kansas properties owned by Electric Bond and Share.
The Kansas Power and Light Co. was incorporated in 1924 to serve north and northeast Kansas.
The two operations merged in 1992, but continued to operate as KGE and KPL until 2002, when Western Resources became Westar Energy.
Westar Energy serves more than 684,000 customers in 55 counties.
Related News

FERC needs to review capacity market performance, GAO recommends
WASHINGTON - Capacity markets may or may not be functioning properly, but FERC can't adequately make that determination, according to the GAO report.
"Available information on the level of resource adequacy ... and related costs in regions with and without capacity markets is not comprehensive or consistent," the report found. "Moreover, consistent data on historical trends in resource adequacy and related costs are not available for regions without capacity markets."
The review concluded that FERC collects some useful information in regions with and without capacity markets, but GAO said it "identified problems with data quality, such as inconsistent data."
GAO included three recommendations, including…